The American Dream: founded on hope, youth, and stocks. When I think of the American Dream, I think of the final destination in the so-called "pursuit of happiness" (not the excellent Will Smith movie.) To me, the American Dream is the hope for absolute comfort in all aspects of socio-economic life. For example, stable finances. With this having been established, it could be said that the American Dream has been truly 'accomplished' by those who are wealthy. I'm not sure whether or not I agree with this, but I certainly don't believe in the phrase "money doesn't buy happiness." To me, someone who is wealthy is someone who has enough money and enough future financial stability to be entirely comfortable. This is my literal definition of wealth. Figuratively, someone who is wealthy is happy with family, friends, and meaning, but that might be getting a little to TOK.
In America, it seems as though there are two to three divides in people that make up the entirety of socioeconomic recognition. These are, of course, our three social classes. While these "classes" are almost entirely intangible, they define the entire quality of life for citizens. "Lower class" individuals, or those living in poverty, are forced to survive off of unsubstantial welfare and are constantly battling the upper class insistence that the poor should have to fend entirely for themselves. All the while middle class individuals are struggling to remain in the middle with their low paying jobs, as most of their salary is being cut off by the big guy, the upper class. Is the upper class the bad guy, then? Hardly. Taxes take away a substantial chunk of upper class finances in order to pay for government ordeals such as welfare and social security. So who is the bad guy? Well, to both the lower and middle class, it's the upper class. To the upper class, it's the lower class. To the government, it's everybody. Essentially, America views wealth and poverty as the means of separating the good guys and the bad guys.
So, who do I think is the bad guy? I'm not exactly sure where I stand on the issue of wealth and poverty. On one hand, the wealthy are wealthy because the worked hard to get there. Very rarely does a CEO get where he or she is without filing a few papers or waiting a few tables. Conversely, America has become the poor man's nightmare. Not only is financial stability lacking, there a hardly any jobs available to begin stabilizing. I don't agree with a Robin Hood mindset- steal from the rich give to the poor- I think if someone works for his or her money, then he or she should be able to keep it. However, we can't just allow entire families to perish as a result of bad luck and a generally unstable economy. Maybe the economy will see a boost in the near future, but until then, thanks, Obama.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Blog #12: It's a Bug's Life
1. Uneasy dreams: indication of difference from normal
"gigantic": imagery, tells us the state and absurdity of his transformation, childlike word
Sentence as a whole states an absurd idea in a casual or flippant (tone?) way.
2. Even simpler than first sentence. "Giant" is a smaller word in itself. No commas or breaks, only sentence to begin with the name of the character
3. Starts with a hook, something happened "when gregory woke up". More artistically written than the first two, meant to draw in readers. Use of word "enormous" more dramatic. "troubled" dreams in place of "uneasy" implies more of an issue than a discomfort.
4. Far more breaks; 4 commas, waits two breaks to mention the name of the character, lots of suspense, "agitated" more casual than "troubled" or "uneasy" sounds more like a nightmare than a night terror, "monstrous vermin" implies negative connotation, far worse than other descriptions.
The four different translations of the opening sentence of Metamorphosis provide an excellent example of the difference a translation can make. Changing syntax and replacing words can make a monumental difference in the interpretation of a sentence and the story as a whole. In these examples, the word choice and sentence order is particularly relevant in the different translations. For example, the position of the character (Gregor Samsa) is relevant to the amount of emphasis that is placed on him and the suspenseful aspect in the sentence.
Diction, or word choice, is extremely important to this sentence. For example, the adjective used to describe Samsa as a bug defines both the reader's interpretation of the transformation and his or her mental image of the bug. One sentence uses the word "giant", while the other uses "monstrous". The first reader would probably have a mild/neutral interpretation of Samsa, while the second reader would have a negative interpretation. Furthermore, the two mental pictures would be entirely different. One would likely be a normal, perhaps cartoonish, insect, while the other would be an alien, disgusting bug. The use of certain words in the text is important to the readers interpretation of the story.
The use of sentence structure is also important to the reader's interpretation of the text. As stated above, the position of Samsa's name defines the reader's interpretation of the text. For example, the second translation, the most simple one, begins with the name. This eliminates any question of who is being spoken about. Conversely, the fourth translation mentions Samsa's name seven words and two commas into the sentence. The fourth sentence will appeal to readers who enjoy suspenseful aspects, as the lead in causes readers to wonder the subject. The second will appeal to readers who connect with logical storytelling and to-the-point writing styles.
These elements of translation can change the mood, tone, and story of a text. It's really interesting what a difference it can make. Props to you for a cool example, Mrs. G! I may read this one if I ever have free time!
"gigantic": imagery, tells us the state and absurdity of his transformation, childlike word
Sentence as a whole states an absurd idea in a casual or flippant (tone?) way.
2. Even simpler than first sentence. "Giant" is a smaller word in itself. No commas or breaks, only sentence to begin with the name of the character
3. Starts with a hook, something happened "when gregory woke up". More artistically written than the first two, meant to draw in readers. Use of word "enormous" more dramatic. "troubled" dreams in place of "uneasy" implies more of an issue than a discomfort.
4. Far more breaks; 4 commas, waits two breaks to mention the name of the character, lots of suspense, "agitated" more casual than "troubled" or "uneasy" sounds more like a nightmare than a night terror, "monstrous vermin" implies negative connotation, far worse than other descriptions.
The four different translations of the opening sentence of Metamorphosis provide an excellent example of the difference a translation can make. Changing syntax and replacing words can make a monumental difference in the interpretation of a sentence and the story as a whole. In these examples, the word choice and sentence order is particularly relevant in the different translations. For example, the position of the character (Gregor Samsa) is relevant to the amount of emphasis that is placed on him and the suspenseful aspect in the sentence.
Diction, or word choice, is extremely important to this sentence. For example, the adjective used to describe Samsa as a bug defines both the reader's interpretation of the transformation and his or her mental image of the bug. One sentence uses the word "giant", while the other uses "monstrous". The first reader would probably have a mild/neutral interpretation of Samsa, while the second reader would have a negative interpretation. Furthermore, the two mental pictures would be entirely different. One would likely be a normal, perhaps cartoonish, insect, while the other would be an alien, disgusting bug. The use of certain words in the text is important to the readers interpretation of the story.
The use of sentence structure is also important to the reader's interpretation of the text. As stated above, the position of Samsa's name defines the reader's interpretation of the text. For example, the second translation, the most simple one, begins with the name. This eliminates any question of who is being spoken about. Conversely, the fourth translation mentions Samsa's name seven words and two commas into the sentence. The fourth sentence will appeal to readers who enjoy suspenseful aspects, as the lead in causes readers to wonder the subject. The second will appeal to readers who connect with logical storytelling and to-the-point writing styles.
These elements of translation can change the mood, tone, and story of a text. It's really interesting what a difference it can make. Props to you for a cool example, Mrs. G! I may read this one if I ever have free time!
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